‘Boom’ auxiliary batteries explode one after another… Citizen safety threats
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An explosion sound is made and flames rise to a height of 1 m.
Vehicles melted and household goods burned.
Accidental battery explosion accidents are occurring one after another. There are only five cases of damage recently identified.
All of these batteries are imported and sold by the same company. Consumers are protesting because the company maintains that there is nothing wrong with the product.
According to Yonhap News coverage on the 10th, Mr. A got into a parked car in Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk, around 1pm on the 8th. It is said that the moment Mr. A put down the auxiliary battery in the car, smoke came out of the auxiliary battery with a crackling sound, and then the auxiliary battery exploded. The car’s passenger seat and door caught fire, and part of the car melted. The auxiliary battery was not connected to the cell phone or charger.
There was an explosion on the 5th as well. At around 2 p.m., at an apartment in Haeundae-gu, Busan, Ms. B put her 3-week-old newborn to sleep in her room and was about to eat a meal in the living room. Just as she was about to drink her first drink, she heard a ‘pop’ sound and a flash of light came from the room where the baby was. She ran to her room and found that the power bank she was charging was on fire. Even while Mr. B was putting out the fire, the fire rose to a height of about 1m.
In addition, the same product exploded in Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do on January 4th, Pohang-si, Gyeongbuk on the 15th of last month, and Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 16th of last month. Mr. C, a victim of the Paju explosion, said, “The flames rose to a height of more than 1 meter, and the auxiliary battery exploded into about 7 pieces,” adding, “It even caused an uproar as apartment residents had to evacuate.” The insurance company estimated property damage from this accident to be about 7 million won. In two of these five accidents, the auxiliary battery exploded while not being charged. All victims claimed that there were no signs of swelling or failure of the auxiliary battery before the explosion, and that the product was never subject to any significant impact.
All of the victims revealed that they used the ‘Kakao Friends Square PD 20W Pocket Quick Auxiliary Battery 10000mAh’ manufactured by Company D. Approximately 400,000 units of this product have been sold so far, and are imported only through Company D. Company D is distributing products under a character licensing agreement with Kakao.
Company D’s position is that there is no problem with the product itself. In fact, this product has received safety certification from the Korea Testing and Research Institute and is also covered by product liability insurance. An official from Company D said, “Before shipping, we go through a drop test and aging process,” and added, “Rather, we are paying a lot of attention to safety issues by spending more money than other companies to ensure safety.”
Regarding the reason for continuing to sell the product, Company D said, “All products that use lithium batteries can have product problems due to shock, overcharging, and other environmental factors,” and added, “Products from major manufacturers also use lithium batteries. “Same accidents are occurring,” he explained. He then stated, “The product in question had a defect rate of about 0.04%,” and added, “If there was a problem with the product, similar accidents would occur frequently and continuous distribution of the product would have been impossible.”
Company D collected debris from two explosion accidents and issued a report. The cause of the explosion was ‘product aging’. Four out of five explosion accident victims purchased the product themselves or received it as a gift from an acquaintance around 2021. Among the victims, only Mr. A was using the product he received as a gift in 2023. An official from Company D said, “Usually, a 10,000 mAh auxiliary battery is judged to have reached the end of its life after being discharged for 2 years or 250 to 300 times after being discharged,” adding, “In addition, the lifespan may be shorter depending on the usage environment and impact.” He continued, “Rather, the fact that it has been used for more than two years would be proof that the product is good.”
The victims’ reaction is that it is absurd. Mr. E, a victim of the explosion in Pohang City, said, “I had no idea that auxiliary batteries should not be used for more than 2 years,” and added, “There was no information on the lifespan or number of uses of auxiliary batteries on the product detail page.” Mr. F, a victim of an explosion in Jongno-gu, Seoul, explained, “After the accident, I checked the product purchase page again. There was no product lifespan listed anywhere or anything that said it could explode.”
Regarding the reason for not listing the expiration date and number of times on the product detail page, an official from Company D said, “There was originally that phrase, but I understand that it disappeared when the detail page was updated.” He added, “Because the lifespan varies depending on the usage environment ( “We judged that it was meaningless to list the contents,” he said. He also said, “I don’t think we can compete with our competitors if we list the lifespan of auxiliary batteries,” and added, “Other companies have not received re-inspection or certification, so it is an unfair situation for our company, which pays more attention to safety issues.”
The victims claim that they trusted Kakao, which supplied the character license, and used the product. Victim F said, “I bought it because I thought it was trustworthy because it was Kakao.” Kakao said, “Kakao only signs a license supply contract, and responsibility for the product lies with the seller. If an accident related to a licensed product occurs, we are communicating to check the progress of the accident and take action.” He emphasized that safety is being reviewed as criteria for concluding a license agreement. A Kakao official said, “We thoroughly review and select various items, including all production-related matters such as technology and safety, as well as post-sale responsibilities such as the operation of a customer service department (CS) and compensation process.” (Regarding auxiliary battery explosion accidents) ) We will strengthen monitoring and strengthen inspections to prevent recurrence,” he said.
An official from Company D said, “We are sincerely sorry for the damage caused to users,” and added, “We will do our best to compensate for the damage.” He continued, “For safe use, we would like to officially announce and inform the product characteristics and expiration date, etc.,” and added, “With this opportunity, we will strive for quality and user safety with a greater sense of responsibility.”
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